Extend trip Pre or Post PG ?

[DGK]

When you extend your trip to another island do you prefer to add it  Before or After  your PG cruise ? If we decided to add a post cruise stay we would still fly in a day or two early to help with jet lag and not feel rushed. Unfortunately we cannot do both. We will be cruising in and out of Papeete.

Thanks, Donna

[magroo]

We decided to do a pre-cruise extension in Bora Bora. We booked ours thru PG, but I've read several posts where people did it separately. We always wanted to do overwater bungalows and figured, with the jet lag, it'd be great to have some days on the front end to chill and go at a slower pace before boarding the ship. Plus, our flight at the end of the cruise is a late night one, so PG booked us a day room that is ours until 8pm. All inter-island flights and transfers are included because we booked it all thru PG. It's our first time there, so it was worth it to us to do a total package.

[DavidTheWonderer]

One advantage of a pre-cruise is that it gets you over the jet leg before you board the ship, so on the cruise itself from day one you'll be perky and ship-shape. We like Moorea, which is an easy ferry ride away from Papeete. DGK didn't include a location in their profile, but even from the "left coast" it is a long flight.

[DGK]

Thank you both for the great comments, We will be flying from Alberta Canada.  Its early in our planning, just starting the process as our cruise isn't till 2021. Extended stays wont be out for a long time yet.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

IMO so long as your doing a few pre days to get on Paradise time you and a day room the last day it really doesn't matter. My suggestion is you pick an isnad that isn't on your itinerary or an island that deserves more time such as Tahaa or Rangiroa. Le Tahaa Resort or Vahine Island Resort, both wonderful properties on Tahaa. On Rangiroa the Kia Ora is spectacular. All three resorts mentioned have OWB's.  A few of the other Atolls also have OWB's. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I vote pre-cruise.  After being on the PG, you're kind of spoiled, frankly.  Land prices are pretty breathtaking as well, but we've loved our pre-cruise stays, ranging from just an overnight to 3-4 days on some island.  We love Moorea, and have stayed at a smaller, French/Polynesian-style hotel instead of a big resort, and been very happy.

[DGK]

Thanks Wendy and TBK , great suggestions,

[vjr]

I would choose post-cruise.  My husband and I first did a PG cruise in 2014 and we did a pre-cruise in Bora Bora.  At the end of the cruise, when we disembarked and boarded the bus to the airport, I remember feeling so sad that the trip was over.   Our second PG cruise in 2016, we did a pre-cruise in Bora Bora and a post-cruise in Moorea.  It felt like 3 vacations back to back and it was great!  No sad bus ride to the airport.  Of course, we had to go to the airport after Moorea, but it really felt better than going to the airport straight from the cruise.

 

We are booked on our 3rd PG cruise in this September for the Fiji itinerary.  We are again doing a pre-cruise (Fiji) and a post-cruise in Bora Bora.  If you have the time - do both, but I would choose post-cruise if I could only do one.

[SWFLAOK]

On our first Paul Gauguin cruise, which was our first cruise ever, but our second trip to Tahiti/Bora Bora/Moorea, we chose the airfare provided on Air Tahiti Nui by PG, without a pre or post included. We flew on our own from Orlando to LAX the day before our PG flight. We stayed at a Marriott Courtyard just North of the airport, and they let us check out late for our evening flight, and gave us a free shuttle to the airport. If you don't book a night pre-cruise,  you will most likely be on the flight that arrives after 11:00 PM, and will be brought directly to the pier for embarkation. The ship won't leave until you're onboard, even if your flight is delayed. There will be a lot of PG cruisers on this flight, and the next port is really close.

After our cruise,  the flight PG provided was between 11 pm and 12 am (when most flights leave Papeete for the US). A day room was provided at the IC hotel, with a 5 minute transfer to the airport about 5 hours prior to our flight. The Papeete airport is not air conditioned, and doesn't have enough seating for the passengers on the 11 to 12 flights at night.

 

Based on our first experience, we booked 1 night pre and 2 nights post at the IC Tahiti, along with our flights through PG, on our second cruise. This was much better. They booked us on a flight from LAX that arrived at 5 AM rather than 11 PM later that day. We arrived at the IC at 6:30 AM, and our room  was ready. That night was Friday, with a free Marquessa show that can be seen from the bar, as well as the restaurant. The next morning, we had full breakfast included (buffet, with a menu selection if wanted), and lunch from the menu was also included. We had to check out before lunch, but they kept watch on our luggage. We were taken to the pier just in time for the 3PM embarkation time. We were quickly onboard and in our cabin, with drinks and dinner onboard.

On return from our second cruise, where we had booked 2 nights post with PG at IC, we couldn't check in until after lunch, so we took the included bus tour of a number of sights south of Papeete. We were upgraded to a room that was already renovated  since they were getting ready to renovate the rooms normally used as day rooms, and we were staying 2 nights. We had breakfast included both mornings, but were on our own otherwise. We rented a car from the hotel concierge and drove the whole island of Tahiti, and as much of Tahiti Iti as we could drive, seeing many beautiful spots. We stopped at a grocery store in Papeete, and found a great bottle of French wine for 11 dollars, and some reasonably priced prepared food for a light dinner on our balcony. The next day,  we enjoyed our included breakfast, and the hotel pools. Late in the day, we paid for cocktails and snacks at the bar, then packed our bags for transport to the airport.

 

We have found that the pre's and post's provided by PG are well worth it in French Polynesia. They go above and beyond to make your trip as convenient as possible,  with transfers provided along the way. Less stress is what we want on vacation. Our next cruise is Papeete to Fiji, and we have 1 night pre at the IC Papeete, with the same afternoon flight from LAX. We have 3 nights post at the Fiji IC, with a convenient flight back to LAX on Air Fiji, for an evening flight back to Florida.

 

I'm sure you can find ways to save money by making your own arrangements, but taxis and rental cars in French Polynesia are expensive, and it's hard to find hotels that allow day rooms without paying for 2 nights if you want a morning check-in and an evening check-out.

Edited June 24, 2019 by SWFLAOK
typos

[JIMinNC]

I guess I'm in the camp that says if you can only do pre- or post-, but not both, do pre-cruise. I think it's important to get on the ground, rest up from the flight, and be ready for the cruise. On our recent cruise we booked a two-night stay at IC Tahiti through Paul Gauguin specifically to have a solid full day to rest before embarkation. We arrived PPT Thursday night at about 9:30 and were at the hotel in our room before 11pm. We then had all day Friday to relax at the resort and even make a quick trip into town before dinner. After checking out at 11am on Saturday, we also had time to chill by the pool before the transport left for the ship at about 2:45pm.

 

We also did a post-cruise stay we booked ourselves over at the Hilton Moorea because we wanted to do the overwater bungalow experience. But even as nice as the Hilton was and as great as that bungalow was, as Wendy alludes to above, we missed the activities, social aspect, and service on the ship. We were sitting on our private deck, overlooking the beautiful Moorea lagoon, but we were wondering when our butler was going to show up with our afternoon snack and replenish our ice! Having said that, I also think it would be a bummer going straight from the ship, to a day-room, to the airport. That would be a big let-down. So, my vote would be to find a way to do both pre- and post-; but if you can only do one, I think the practical aspect of recovering from jet lag before embarkation would cause me to vote for doing something before the cruise rather than after.

[theNJR]

If I am reading the original post correctly, you’d be able to do a day or two in Tahiti before the cruise to de-jetlag AND a few nights post cruise on another island, right? You just can’t do Tahiti -> separate island -> PG -> separate island -> Tahiti.

 

If that’s the case, I’d vote for post cruise. After two nights in Tahiti and the cruise, you are really in vacation mode and probably have a good feel for what you like about Polynesia and things you want to experience more of. It’s very much what I wanted after my recent cruise. 

 

The good news is you really can not go wrong. You’ve achieved 90% of the benefit just by picking this vacation. Everything else is slight modifications and optimizations. It’s also fun to plan, and for us to provide input to relive it even if just for a moment. 

[DGK]

Thank you everyone , great comments and suggestions.

[bitob]

Our first time on the PG we spent 2days pre cruise at the IC Tahiti just to relax and 3 days on Moorea post-cruise in an over the water bungalow.  The OWB is a once in a lifetime experience and I cannot recommend highly enough.  I agree, however, the service seemed sub par after 10 days on the PG.   

 

This time our 14 day cruise ends in Fiji and we are staying there 3 days post cruise because we have not been there before.  

 

The shorter the cruise, the more you should choose to stay longer whether pre or post cruise.

[DGK]

Thanks bitob lots to consider and all wonderful options, our cruise is 11 nights unfortunately during their rainy season but that's better than our cold Canadian winter.

[SWFLAOK]

10 hours ago, bitob said:

Our first time on the PG we spent 2days pre cruise at the IC Tahiti just to relax and 3 days on Moorea post-cruise in an over the water bungalow.  The OWB is a once in a lifetime experience and I cannot recommend highly enough.  I agree, however, the service seemed sub par after 10 days on the PG.   

 

This time our 14 day cruise ends in Fiji and we are staying there 3 days post cruise because we have not been there before.  

 

The shorter the cruise, the more you should choose to stay longer whether pre or post cruise.

bitobob,

Are you on the Sept 7, 2019 sailing o Fiji? We are on that cruise and staying 2 nights pre at the IC Papeete, and 3 nights post at the IC Fiji.

Before we ever did a cruise at all, we had taken our trip of a lifetime to Tahiti. We stayed for a week at the Sofitel Marara in an overwater bungalow on Bora Bora, and a week in an overwater bungalow at the Beachcomber (now IC) Moorea. We loved it, but it was really expensive back i 1995, and we didn't expect to ever go back to French Polynesia.

But 20 years later, we looked again. While we loved the overwater bungalows, the Paul Gauguin cruise gave us much more to see. And, it was cheaper than the overwater bungalows, and had great service, good food and beverages, and everything included.

[bitob]

Yes -- we are on that cruise with 3 other couples.  We are staying at the Marriott Momi Bay post cruise.

[SWFLAOK]

Well, maybe we'll run into you on board. We're in cabin 808.

[bitob]

Impossible not to -- it's a small ship!  You will meet everyone the first day.

We are in 711

[Hutchinj]

On 6/24/2019 at 7:03 PM, vjr said:

Our second PG cruise in 2016, we did a pre-cruise in Bora Bora and a post-cruise in Moorea.

 

We're doing the exact opposite next July for our 50th.

 

While I like the convenience of booking pre & post-cruise hotel stays via PG with easy transfers and day room options, we wanted to try other hotels instead of the Intercontinental brand. In our case, Hilton Moorea and St Regis Bora Bora. Plus, the quote we got from PG for upgrading to ATN's Dreamliner Premium Economy was higher than what our TA arranged for us after applying PG's refund of $3400 for unused coach air.

 

Since we are taking ATN's redeye from LAX to PPT (the only choice for our date of travel), we are taking the ferry to Moorea first thing that morning. I've prebooked a standard garden room at the Hilton Moorea so we'll have a place to crash, if needed, before checking into a Premium OWB late that afternoon (a surprise for my DW). Then the PG Cruise 3 days later followed by 4 more days in Bora Bora. Should be a great experience for our first time in FP.

 

The hardest part now is the wait! 🙂